Diesel engine exhaust is carcinogenic to humans. According to a study conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), there is sufficient evidence that exposure to diesel engine exhaust is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer. Accordingly, firetrucks and other vehicles that operate using diesel engines pose a significant threat to operators and workers who work in facilities where such vehicles are kept.
Facilities housing these vehicles commonly have a number of fans, which may be blowers, which are used to remove exhaust gases as well as to circulate and cool the air in the facilities. Some of these facilities are equipped with receivers that communicate with transmitters placed in the vehicles to control the fans, to open and close garage doors, to operate traffic lights, and to control lighting in the facility. The transmitters send signals to the receiver by way of any number of a plurality of channels, some of which could be made proprietary by coding the transmitter and the receiver. Some of these channels transmit signals automatically while others transmit signals through buttons on the transmitter in which such signals are received by the receiver when in range. Once the signals are received, the receiver actuates a controller for the fans in the facility as well as other associated devices. However, the remote control systems currently in use are hardwired to the vehicles which prevent them from being easily portable from vehicle to vehicle. Also, such systems can only handle a limited number of vehicles and operate over a limited range. They also do not take any active steps to conserve power, to mitigate emergencies or to monitor maintenance and service needs.
Therefore, there is a need for an environmental control system that provides a more portable transmission device, can handle an unlimited number of vehicles, can be controlled from a greater distance from the facility, can provide maintenance and emergency management while actively conserving power. Further, there is a need for such a system that provides more active controls of environmental parameters.